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Wheel of Fortune timeline (syndicated)/Season 36
Go back to Season 35? A timeline for Season 36 of Wheel of Fortune, which aired in first-run from September 10, 2018 through June 7, 2019. Season Changes *The studio intro from Season 34 is used with one modification: two of the buildings now have graphics of Pat and Vanna waving at the viewer, which are sometimes altered for the theme of the week. *When a contestant calls a letter, the letter appears in a light gray circle on the bottom left corner of the screen. A red slash appears through it if the letter is not in the puzzle or has been called already. *This is the first season since Season 34 not to have a Halloween week. *The Mystery Wedge intro revives the original animation of the Wheel slowly spinning to a stop. September 2018 *September 10 is Teacher's Week, taped July 26. During this week, the opening graphic has pictures of Pat and Vanna in grade school added to two of the buildings. *On September 11, Classic TV is used for the first time since January 9, 2013. *On September 13: ** The Prize is a $10,200 trip to Spain. ** For the first known time, Headline is used in Round 4. *On September 14, six rounds are played. *September 17 is Gone Fishin', taped August 9. During this week, the Season 28 Outdoor Adventure Week intro is used, which features the Pat and Vanna Wii avatars fishing. * On September 17, Dr. Oz makes a cameo in the closing segment. Footage is shown of him, Pat, and Vanna demonstrating CPR techniques on dummies in front of the puzzle board. * On September 18: ** Although the $3,000 Toss-Up is People, the category strip for Person is put up instead. Also, Pat's announcement of the category appears to have been corrected in post-production. ** Places makes only its third known appearance in the Bonus Round. * On September 19, the first sentence of the Mystery Round announcement is changed to "Did one of our Wheel Watchers just win $10,000?", while the onscreen text at this point now reads "Did you just win $10,000?" * On September 21: ** The Round 1 puzzle THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING has two spaces between TIME and FOR. ** Contestant Alexa, who does not solve her bonus puzzle, misses the $1,000,000 by only one envelope. * September 24 is California Coast, taped August 23. During this week, the Bonus Round is sponsored by the Netflix original series The Good Cop, a trailer of which is shown before the Bonus Round on Monday and Thursday. * On September 25, two males play. * On September 26, six rounds are played. * On September 27, the bonus puzzle ORGANIC KALE AND SPINACH ties the third-longest known bonus puzzle to be used on the show, and the longest under three-and-a-vowel rules, at 21 letters. * On September 28, Vanna wears a shirt and pants. * All ten Bonus Rounds are lost on the weeks of September 17 and 24, part of an eleven loss streak. This is also part of a four-week span beginning on September 17 where only two Bonus Rounds are won. October 2018 * October 1 is Shopping Spree, taped July 27, During this week: ** The opening graphic has videos of Pat and Vanna carrying shopping bags on two of the buildings. ** For only the second time, four Crossword Rounds are done in one week. * On October 2: ** The Prize is $6,000 credit to ebates.com. ** The Retro Bonus Round is not done. * On October 3, no puzzles are done that fit the theme of the week. * October 8 is Spa Getaway, taped August 24. During this week, the Season 28 Wii avatar intro from World Class Spas Week intro is used. * On October 8, the Prize Puzzle offers a $10,990 trip to Barbados. * On October 9: ** The Retro Bonus Round is one not previously used on this feature. ** The third-place contestant has $11,014. * On October 10: ** Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the contestants who began them. ** The Prize Puzzle offers a $10,976 trip to Jamaica. ** Pat references a cut "null" cycle at the start of Round 4 by saying "There is, however, an S" despite no previous wrong letters airing. * October 15 is Great Outdoors Week, taped August 10. During this week, the opening animation is the Pat and Vanna avatars rowing a canoe, followed by a zoom onto the traditional logo on one of the canoe paddles. Unusually for an episode with a Wii avatar opening, Jim does the "From the Sony Pictures Studios, it's America's Game!" announcement over the animation. * On October 15: ** Contestant Jeffrey lands on Express on the first spin of Round 3 and fills in the entire puzzle BOUTIQUES & RESTAURANTS by himself. ** A "null" cycle is not edited out of the Speed-Up. * On October 16, a "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 1 (Lose A Turn, an incorrect V, and another Lose A Turn). * On October 17: ** The Round 4 puzzle SLY AS A FOX is an extremely rare instance of a puzzle shorter than 10 letters. ** The winning contestant has only $8,600 before the Bonus Round. * On October 19: ** Pat references a cut "null" cycle in Round 4 by saying "Nate, back to you" on his first aired turn. ** Round 4 is a non-sequitur answer of KANGAROO AND CARIBOU. ** In the final segment, Pat and Vanna show three clips: the previous day's winning contestant James being jumped on by his wife Esther after winning the Bonus Round, a similar reaction from the winning contestant Renee on October 8, 1998, and then that same episode's closing chat, in which Pat says "16 years on the show, and you've never jumped on me like that" and Vanna replies "Well, you've never given me a car." * October 22 is Veterans Week, taped September 26. During this week, every episode except October 25 has two males. * On October 22, after the Bonus Round, Jim announces that all of the week's contestants will receive a package of products that have been promoted on Shark Tank. * On October 23: ** The $1,000 Toss-Up ROCKET SCIENTIST is not themed. ** The Prize is a $10,064 trip to Fiji. ** The bonus puzzle (COUGARS IN THE WILD) is a rare instance of one under three-and-a-vowel rules to have at least one each of R, S, T, L, N, and E. * On October 24: ** Contestant Nikki fills in the entire Round 3 puzzle IT'S ALL I EVER WANTED by herself. ** Nikki's score is accidentally shown as $20,103 after she solves Round 3. It is corrected to $19,903 before the $3,000 Toss-Up. ** A "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 4 (an incorrect B, a Lose A Turn, and a Bankrupt that does not take anything away). ** The second-place contestant has $19,100. * On October 26: ** The daily affiliate ad includes a clip of the "A GROUP OF PILL-PUSHERS" incident from 1999. ** Contestant Carolyn fills in the entire Round 3 puzzle LISTENING TO A SALSA BAND by herself. * The week of October 29 is Home Sweet Home Week, taped September 13. During this week: ** The show holds a contest in which home viewers may enter for a chance to win a house at Latitude Margaritaville in Hilton Head (Hardeeville), South Carolina or Daytona Beach, Florida. This is promoted during the week of October 22 through a clip which shows contestants named Rachel, Kyle, and Peggy playing, and Rachel solving the puzzle WHEEL IS GIVING AWAY A HOUSE NEXT WEEK! The promo is changed slightly during the week of the contest to replace the word NEXT with THIS. The "contestants" in this ad appear to be actors, and they are all wearing nametags in the 1997-2013 style. ** There is a cold open in which Pat and Vanna stand in front of the puzzle board, which shows a phrase relevant to the sweepstakes. Pat says, "It's a first for Wheel and our biggest giveway ever!", followed by Vanna saying, "You could win a home sweet home in paradise, located in Latitude Margarativaille." After a beat, Vanna says "Pat, what are you doing?" (on Monday-Wednesday) or "What happened?" (on Thursday and Friday) and Pat replies with a joke related to the lyrics of "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett: *** Monday: The board reads ONE LUCKY VIEWER COULD WIN A HOUSE! and Pat's response is "Searching for my lost shaker of salt." *** Tuesday: The board reads WE'RE GIVING ONE LUCKY VIEWER A NEW HOUSE! and Pat's response is "Strumming my six-string" while pulling out a toy ukulele. *** Wednesday: The board reads WE'RE GIVING AWAY A HOUSE! and Pat's response is "Nibbling on sponge cake" while pulling out a piece of cake. *** Thursday: The board reads YOUR NEW HOME IN PARADISE AWAITS! and Pat's response is "I stepped on a pop top" while grabbing his leg. *** Friday: The board reads A NEW HOUSE COULD BE YOURS! and Pat's response is "I blew out my flip-flop" while holding a broken flip-flop. ** All of the Prizes and Prize Puzzles are trips to Margaritaville Resorts. ** Except on Tuesday, Jim promotes Latitude Margaritaville after Round 2. * On October 31, there are two sets of duplicate categories: Rounds 1 and 3 are Phrase, while the $2,000 Toss-Up and Bonus Round are What Are You Doing? November 2018 * On November 2: ** The ding does not sound when the W is revealed in Round 2. ** The closing segment is done entirely in silence, with Pat and Vanna "communicating" through thought bubbles while relaxing in chairs, with the only sounds being the laugh track. * The week of November 5 is America’s Game. Unusually, only two Crossword Rounds are done this week. * On November 5: ** As it is the sixth episode of Teacher's Week, three teachers play. ** The Prize is $6,000 cash courtesy of Care.com. ** A "null" cycle is not edited out of the Speed-Up. * On November 6, two males play. * On November 7, Vanna wears a shirt and pants. * On November 8, no puzzles are done that fit America's Game or the theme of the corresponding taping week (Shopping Spree). * On November 9, there is a $100,000 loss by contestant Jonathan who says the answer just after the buzzer. * November 12 is Great American Cities: Washington, D.C., taped September 27. During this week, the retro Bonus Rounds are not done; instead, Pat and Vanna do a bumper after Round 2. * On November 12: ** The Prize Puzzle includes a trailer the fourth season of the Starz TV series Outlander. ** A "null" cycle is not edited out of the Speed-Up. * On November 13: ** Two males play. ** The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash courtesy of Brown's Car Stores. * On November 14: ** The $2,000 Toss-Up PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITER sets a new record for the longest puzzle to be used as a Toss-Up. ** The Gift Tag is a $1,000 debit card courtesy of TLC Laser Eye Centers. * On November 15: ** Two males play. ** The $1,000 Toss-Up, Round 4, and Bonus Round are Phrase, and no puzzles are done that fit the theme of the week. This would suggest that the original $1,000 Toss-Up was thrown out and replaced. ** The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash courtesy of Long Fence and Home. * On November 16, there is a $100,000 win. * November 19 is Happy Thanksgiving! During this week, the Gift Tag is a $500 gift certificate to Bates Turkey Farm and $500 cash. * On November 19, the Prize copy includes a trailer for the 30th anniversary DVD and Blu-Ray release of Scrooged, a copy of which is included in the prize package. * On November 20: ** Eleven turns are lost in Round 2. ** Contestant Gina is credited with winning the $3,000 Toss-Up despite mispronouncing the answer PROVINCETOWN. This error is not discovered until before the Bonus Round, at which point Pat explains that since the ruling did not affect the outcome and she did not win, she will keep the $3,000 and her opponents will also be awarded the same amount. * On November 21, contestant Whitney solves the bonus puzzle MADAGASCAR just after the buzzer. Pat explains that her answer will be checked during the break, but it is revealed that the buzzer just barely beat her. * November 26 is European Vacation, sponsored by Collette. As is usual for most Collette weeks, most of the Prizes and/or Prize Puzzle trips are over $10,000. * On November 26: ** Pat and Vanna read parts of the Prize copy. ** Six rounds are played. * On November 27: ** Two males play. ** Jim is shown on-camera after Round 1. ** There is a ½ Car win. ** For the first known time, Events is used in the Bonus Round. * On November 30, contestant Immani is brought back due to a $3,000 Toss-Up buzzer malfunction on her original episode, which aired on December 23, 2016. This is the first known instance since 2008 of a contestant being brought back to an error. December 2018 * December 3 is Winter Break. * On December 3: ** Six consecutive turns are lost in Round 3 (an incorrect A, Lose A Turn, two Bankrupts, another Lose A Turn, and a third Bankrupt). ** Six consecutive wrong letters are called in the Speed-Up, but only the latter three are edited out. ** Events makes only its second known appearance in the Bonus Round. * On December 4, the Prize Puzzle copy includes a trailer for the DVD and Blu-Ray release of Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Given the value of the Prize, it is likely that a copy of the movie is included as well. * On December 5: ** Vanna wears a shirt and pants. ** In the closing chat, Pat and Vanna discuss the Carnival Mardi Gras cruise line, and Vanna reveals CARNIVAL MARDI GRAS on the puzzle board while the "puzzle solved" cue plays. * On December 6: ** The Retro Bonus Round is one not previously used on this feature, and very likely the most recent puzzle to be used in this feature (BLACK TIGHTS from November 26, 2010). It is also accidentally identified as being from 2001. ** Pat and Vanna read part of the Prize Puzzle copy; unusually, Pat also reads the value of the trip.